Civil war fabric
 

Okay, exactly what am I looking for? Anybody got pictures of some examples? How can you tell it apart from other fabrics? I really feel dumb. But, I have to ask. Thanks for your help!

Google images of civil war fabric and tons of pictures will come up. Mostly they are small prints, small florals and leaves in soft muted shades. http://www.pinterest.com/sammyo77/civil-war-fabric/

Judie Rothermel is a designer known for Civil War reproduction designs.

Ask at your local quilt shop -- they will be able to point you in the right direction.

If you go into barbarabrackman.com you will find a lot of information. She knows a lot of history and even published a book on dating the fabric. She had a quilt-along i.e Richmond, Va., a quilt patch for each town and used the fabric
to fit the town. Very interesting. I have all the patterns but have not started it yet. Someday as it goes. haha

Don't feel dumb at all. Unless you study vintage textiles, you probably wouldn't recognize the patterns and colors as being from that time frame. Even those of us who study vintage textiles need to research specific fabrics. Some time frames are easier to recognize on sight than others. For me, 1930's and 1880's are easy. Civil War, not as easy for me---maybe with more study, someday...
If you are looking to buy some CW reproductions, also look on etsy. There are lots for sale there, and some are really a great bargain! I'm guilty of spending waaay too much there!

I recommend Barbara Brackman's book on identifying specific fabrics. I own one of the books and I really enjoyed using it while I made my Dear Jane quilt. If you google "civil war fabrics" and go to images you'll get to see a lot of fabrics. After awhile you will just "know" what will "work" in your quilt etc.

Here are some sites that specialize in Civil War/reproduction fabrics.
Trinity School House Quilt shop even has date ranges on their web site. This is an adorable shop at the southern end of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in a old two story brick school. They specialize in mid 1800s repro fabrics.

http://www.reproductionfabrics.com/

http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/SHOP...uction-Fabrics

http://www.trinityquilts.com/category.php?category_id=4

Jan in VA